1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to cost management for information apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cost management for information apparatus such as a copying machine is customarily done based on cost information calculated from management information such as the number of pages printed.
However, the abovementioned method does not take into account the cost of expendable items such as toner so that the costs of expendable items are not properly reflected upon the cost information. In particular, it is difficult to calculate the cost information accurately as the cost of toner, different from paper, varies with the apparatus used.
Moreover, it is cumbersome and affects productivity to input the management information of expendable items into each individual piece of information apparatus.